"if you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea..."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, from the Little Prince

THE INSPIRATION....

The "Nest" project inspiration came about as Exquisite Gardeners Joe and Will Brubaker were mulling over the challenges of making a distinctive statement worthy of the Gardener's efforts. The site is challenging in the sense that it is less than neutral in character, it is a chain link fenced corner of an asphalt parking lot at Linden Street Brewery/Campovida Wine Bar in Oakland, hard against railroad tracks with a view looking to the north of freeway overpass and Port of Oakland loading cranes. The decision was made that the installation had to contrast in some way with the site. Joe saw an article in the New York Times about "Twigitecture", people who make people sized nests, and the idea was born to make a huge nest! Will Brubaker, naturalist that he is, knew of a bird called the Bower bird, that used color to decorate it's nest to attract a mate. Blue was one theme the Bower bird used and it was decided that the nest will be mainly blue, and the scattered Gardeners, from Oregon to the Sierra Foothills, to Southern California, were sent a message: "collect blue stuff", so in September we will converge onto the Oakland parking lot and start working on our interpretation of a huge Bower bird nest, with lots of Arundo cane, an invasive species, cut from a willing homeowner's property, some Bamboo from Bamboo Sourcery in Sebastopol, CA., and junk, glorious junk from our individual Gardeners. We will find some local junk, as we always do, to tie in the project with local vibe and culture. We will work like crazy for a few days and we will make something transformative and amazing, as we always do. Come to Oakland and check it out!